Errors due to spatial discretization and numerical precision in the finite-element method

Author

Scott, Waymond R., Jr.

Author_Institution

Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Georgia Inst. of Technol., Atlanta, GA, USA

Volume

42

Issue

11

fYear

1994

fDate

11/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1565

Lastpage

1570

Abstract

The effects of the spatial discretization and the numerical precision on a plane wave propagating through a finite-element mesh are investigated in this work. The spatial discretization results in dispersion in the amplitude and the phase of the wave and in a non-uniform rate of convergence within an element. The finite precision in the calculations used in a finite-element code results in degraded accuracy. These errors are investigated as a function of the node density, the order of the elements, and the precision of the calculations used in the finite element code. The errors for first- through eighth-order elements are investigated both analytically and numerically

Keywords

convergence of numerical methods; error analysis; finite element analysis; waveguide theory; FEM; amplitude dispersion; errors analysis; finite-element code; finite-element mesh; finite-element method; node density; non-uniform convergence rate; numerical precision; phase dispersion; plane wave propagation; spatial discretization; Computer errors; Convergence; Degradation; Dispersion; Equations; Finite element methods; Impedance; Polarization; Roundoff errors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-926X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/8.362777

Filename

362777